The two-piston problem revisited: Generalization from reversible to irreversible expansion

摘要

We discuss the adiabatic two-piston problem for an ideal gas confined between two pistons of equal mass and extend recent work based on the reversible approximation. More realistic equations that account for the roles of the gas temperature and particle mass are applied to extend the analysis of the expansion of the gas from reversible to irreversible behavior to the limit of free expansion. The evolution of quantities, such as temperature, piston speed, adiabatic reversibility coefficients, and entropy, is obtained, and differences between the irreversible and the reversible solutions are investigated.